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She asked, "If it's not that then, is it because you don't find my son attractive?" as a follow-up question to the previous statement. My eyes widened once more when she asked the question. How did things even get to this point in the first place?

"No ma. I think your son is very handsome, and I find that I am attracted to him as well "I made an effort to reassure her. It didn't even bother to dwell on me or what I'd said; instead, the focus was on the boy himself and the information that he provided. When faced with challenges such as these, it is easy to see why some people have the desire for the ground to open it's way and swallow them.

A laugh that I've heard before came from my direction. "Mummy, please stop teasing her na,"Frederick pleaded.

The hearty laugh that Mrs. Zikora let out was a pleasant surprise. "Please don't take offense, Amanda; I was just trying to make you laugh. However, it would mean the world to me if you could call me mom rather than Mrs. Zikora. It appears to be too formal "Her face was adorned by a genuine smile and it Lit up her entire face.

"Oh, honey, please forgive me; I had no intention of offending you in any way." I gave her an odd look; there's no reason for her to take it as an indication that I was offended.

"Ehn?" I was confused about what she meant, so I asked. I'm sorry, but you really did sound like a country girl when you said that.

The response she gave was, "You're crying dear." I could feel Frederick's eyes on me, and they were filled with concern.

"I'm not crying," I said. After touching my face, I became aware that it was damp and immediately cut the sentence I was about to say short.

"Amanda, how are you doing? Are you okay?" Frederick asked.

"Yeah, it's just that," I sniffed a little and used the back of my hand to wipe my tears. "You've been more of a mother to me than my actual mother has ever been to me from birth," I said with a chuckle while also giving her a grateful smile. 

She gave me a shy grin before saying, "Great, I could be of assistance to you, my dear." As soon as I heard her words, I burst out laughing. You can see why I liked Mrs. Zikora because she could easily transform even the most depressing or monotonous situations into something much more upbeat and bright. It is very unfortunate that such a wonderful woman had to struggle with cancer for so long.

...................................................................

"So Amanda, how have things been going at school?" Mrs. Zikora asked. I was left alone in the hospital room with Frederick's mother after Frederick left a few minutes ago, saying that he needs to check something and won't be gone for too long.

I responded with complete honesty, "It's been surprisingly good," because it was, after all, I was saying the truth. People were focused on what they were doing and didn't bother me at school this week, which made for an absolutely wonderful experience. Even more surprisingly, Silver has not yet attempted anything, and all of this occurred before Frederick even made that announcement. So, now I'm curious about how the next day will go.

"I'm glad to hear that," she said with a smile. Despite the fact that she has been attempting to persuade her son that she has been feeling much better recently, I have no doubt that Frederick is able to see through her lie. That it was visible to the unaided eye is what I mean. Mrs. Zikora's complexion continued to worsen with each passing day. You might also notice she was  becoming noticeably frailer and more underweight. Even though she was making a valiant effort to conceal it, she could still feel a slight tremor in the hand that she was using to hold the book that she was reading. To be able to notice it, you must first ensure that you are paying very close attention.

"What about your parents, have they returned yet?" When I heard the question, I remembered that my parents did travel and were still out of the country. In all honesty, how am I not going to forget? Even when they were here, I saw very little of them, so their absence did not significantly alter the situation in any way.

"Not at this time" As I thought about my mother and father, a bitter aftertaste lingered in my mouth. They have not called me even once to know how I am doing, which is exactly what I anticipated would happen. Do you agree that they were unquestionably the best parents that the year had to offer?

In an effort to steer the conversation in a new direction, I changed the topic with a question..

"So, ma, I was wondering if the doctor had anything else to say to you about your health."

I let out a heavy sigh of disappointment as she broke the bad news with a mournful laugh and stated, "Sadly no, the situation is still the same as when last I told you."

"I apologize, but I have no choice but to share this news with Frederick. I am unable to conceal this information from him any longer "I was completely honest with her.

She let out a sigh of her own, and then said to me, "If you tell him it might break him."

I responded with as much courtesy as I could muster. "However, if he finds out much later, it will shatter him even more than it already has. Do you really want to put yourself in such a precarious situation?"

She gave a sigh of complete and utter defeat before smiling and saying, "No, I do not."

"The following thing she said to me was, "You're a wonderful girl, Amanda. A girl with a big heart." I had no doubt that you were the perfect match for my son Frederick." I simply smiled, though I wasn't entirely certain that I was smiling at the "right person" part that she had mentioned.

"It seems as though you have another question for me, and you are more than welcome to ask" She had the same acute powers of observation as she always had.

"Ma, the question that I'm about to ask you might make you feel awkward; do you still want me to ask it?" She signaled for me to proceed by nodding her head in agreement.

Letting out a breath I finally asked the question that has been bugging from the first day I met Frederick's mom in the hospital.

"Where is Mr Zikora?"

She didn't even seem fazed by my question, instead gave me a grin "I was wondering when you would inquire about that" God knows I wasn't expecting the next thing that she said.

A melancholy look bedizened her entire face "But to answer your question Amanda, your future Father-in-law is sadly not with us anymore. He past away few years back"

"Frederick wasn't always this optimistic in life" I listened attentively as Frederick's mom continued talking.

"He was once in a very bad place" She narrated sadly.

When she said, "It was when his father passed away, that that's when it all started," I wanted to ask eagerly, "When what started," but I immediately stopped my hasty self from asking the question.

She struggled to get a sob out as she said, "My baby went into drugs." I had no idea how to comfort a person, but my body moved on its own and I went to her to try to console her even though I had no idea how to do so. I have no single clue on that.

It would be an understatement to say that her words shocked me, but they did. Certainly, I was shocked by what she said, but the first thing that came to mind was to offer her some consolation.

After she had put herself together, she flashed me a brief smile, which served as an indication that she was fine at this point. I took my hands off of her and went back to where I was sitting before continuing.

She made an attempt at humor by saying, "I'm sorry about that." "To continue what I was saying, Frederick became involved in drug use. Once, he took too much of the drug, and I had to rush him to the emergency room. If you ask me, that day was one of the worst of my entire life." As she spoke, a smirk of resentment spread across her face.

To be honest, I had no idea how to respond to what she had said. I couldn't imagine Frederick doing something like that, and I'm sure no one could. But, as we all know, you don't judge a book by its cover.

A person may be unhappy or even dying on the inside, but the fake smile and behavior you see can easily mask it. It never occurred to me that Frederick might be in pain or have gone through something similar. I'd always thought he was highly confident, but I had no idea he had to be that way.